Boats attacked in wrecking spree

Published: Sunday, 10 August 2014

A GANG of 10 teenagers ran amok in Manchester in the early hours of Saturday morning, on a hour-long wrecking spree, with boats moored on the Aston Canal being targeted.

At least one of them was armed, holding up a man at gun-point and robbing him, with a man and woman robbed and the man punched, Mick Fitzgibbons tells us.

Ashton Canal

They walked along the streets of the city then moved towards Ancoats, seeing the narrowboats tied up at Dulcie Street Junction at the start of the Ashton Canal, banged on their hull and broke their windows.

People, including the boat crews, were terrorised by the attacks, that started at midnight and went on until 1am, terrorising people and hurling abuse at anyone they came across.

At the end, two of the group robbed a security guard at gun point who was sitting in a van, robbing him of his possessions and keys.  The police have been told that though all were hooded it was obvious they were about 15 years of age.